Kid&Kat
by WaterLily25
Summary: Jack's not the only one who gets to have some fun; Kid Blink finds an adventure of his own. A subplot to Jack&Ira's story, Numb Like Her. "Kid and Kat? Sounds like a nursery rhyme." R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Late November, 1900

Kid Blink groaned as he rolled over. He'd stayed up too late at Ira's the night before. Kloppman's voice was echoing in the hall, and the others were still out cold, sleeping off the whiskey they'd had. Kid Blink scratched the place under his bad eye, lifting up the leather eye patch. His good eye was trying to focus when the old man entered the bunkroom, shouting and pulling pillows out from under boys' heads as he passed their bunks. They yelled at him, groggy and grumpy. Kloppman just smiled and laughed.

"I wouldn't hafta do that if you boys woke up when you're 'sposed to!" he shouted, his elderly voice stern and clear.

Kid Blink looked to his right, seeing David asleep in the bunk across from his, Jack's bunk.

Kid Blink looked away, unable to help the disappointed look in his eye: he missed Jack. He was happy to have David around, but he missed his best friend. But he was needed elsewhere, where Ira was.

Kid Blink sat up and dropped his upper body over the edge of his bunk, his head hanging over Mush's below. He smiled: Mush was snoring lightly with his mouth hanging open. He always slept on the other end of the bunk, where his feet were supposed to go. That way, when they leaned out to talk to each other, they could see each other's faces. They'd talk and laugh the loudest, and most of the time the others were throwing things at them to shut them up. Jack was practically Kid's brother. But Mush was his true partner in crime.

Kid Blink sat back up and waited a moment, grinning cleverly before jumping off the bunk, landing on the floor with a hard thud right next to Mush's head. The brass bunk frames shook.

Mush woke with a quick start, his startled cry waking the rest of the dozing Newsies. Racetrack, who was under Jack/David's bed, scoffed and shook his head at them.

David moaned irritably as he rubbed his eyes, "Really, guys?"

"Morning, Davie," Racetrack called up to the boy. "Sleep well?"

"I did once I got used to the smell of your feet," David said as he threw his legs over the side.

The boys laughed and Race blew David off as he went to the sinks.

"Jesus, Kid," Mush said with a yawn, climbing out of bed and reaching for his trousers. "Can't ya wake me a bit softer?"

"Yeah, I'll make ya breakfast next time, _sweetheart_," Kid Blink called as he strolled into the curtain of steam that was rolling out from the bathroom. Mush glared and buttoned his pants as he followed his friend to the sinks.

The boys rough housed as they got ready for the day, whipping each other with damp towels and flinging soap at one another. But, then again, they always rough housed.

November was turning bitter, and the boys added more layers to their wardrobes every day, shuffling through the boxes of coats in a corner of the bunk room, seeing what fit. The older Newsies, like Kid Blink, had their own coats. They bundled up and bounded down the old staircase and out the door for the distribution dock where they bought their stacks of papes.

It was a sunny morning but the wind was still angry, nipping their cheeks. Girls huddled together as they went to school or to the factories and the men drew their coats around them. The streets were bustling as people went in and out of shops and offices and horse carriages flew up and down the busy intersections. Shouts could be heard from the markets and the bulls' whistle blowing echoed around the buildings.

Newsies didn't like the cold too much; their fingers froze as they held their papes high and they only had so many clothes that were made available to them through the generous donations of the city. They fared better in the summer, when they could strip away clothes instead of freeze. At least the city smelled better in the winter.

Mush and Kid Blink usually sold together. Even if they didn't sell anything, they had each other for company. Sometimes they couldn't stand together; they were their worst distractions and they'd laugh too much. They had their usual spots: the corner outside of Tibby's when men left their offices for lunch; the market place where they sometimes snuck a loaf of bread or an apple or two; and the corner across from an all girls' school, Saint Catherine's, in the Upper East Side.

The girls' school was not the best place for Mush and Kid Blink to sell papers. But they never really worried about selling papers there; they just wanted to see the girls leave the school at four in the afternoon, the biggest gaggle of girls the boys had ever seen. Soon word got out to the other Newsies and some joined Mush and Kid Blink, sniggering and gawking at the girls with long soft hair, their faces clean.

The Newsies stuck out like sore thumbs in their rags for clothes in the Upper East Side and their harsh New York accents filled the streets as they shouted the headlines. Even though they couldn't even afford to stand there and breathe and most passersby turned up their noses, Kid Blink made some decent coin; it's all in what you say. Some would shout about stocks and bonds or about world affairs but what sold the most were the stories covering the trail of Garrison Rockefeller, heir to the Rockefeller Empire. The Newsies had Ira to thank for that story.

Even though the girls across the street would never look their way, it was a good spot regardless: they were across from a busy intersection where people passed them every three seconds, unable to ignore their shouts of the daily headlines. Kid Blink would shout as loud as he could and would smile charmingly at the women that passed him. Some even smiled back.

His right eye would dart over to the ornate front doors of the school, where the girls waited for their friends. Every day the school bell would ring, echoing around the buildings within a ten mile radius, and the girls would flow out the front doors, giggling and laughing as they left. Their skirts and blouses were clean and crisp, their skin and hair just as clean. They tugged their shawls tighter against the cold and darted around the steps, talking with their friends. It seemed that every one of them was beautiful and out of reach. It wasn't hard to see why the Newsies' eyes were drawn to them.

And every day, he saw her.

It was four in the afternoon, the chilly air at their backs and rustling the papers, and Kid Blink's good eye happened to glance to the school right as she was coming out the front doors.

Kid Blink had noticed her the first day they had started selling on the corner. She stood apart from the others, or at least she stood out to him: her hair was down and blew around her shoulders, where as the other girls had their hair up in tight buns, and the sleeves of her blouse were rolled up, her hands always in a notebook she carried every day. She turned, and he saw her face.

The corners of his mouth lifted a little.

The boys teased him endlessly and called her "Blink's Girl". And he didn't mind in the slightest.

"She's _pretty_ Blink," they'd croon and laugh. "Ya got good taste."

"Too bad he'll never _get_ ta taste," they'd laugh.

"An' it don't botha ya that she's Upper East Side?" one of them would shout.

"Man, she could crawl out from the sewers an' he'd still be in love with her!"

He would just shake his head and shove them.

He was one of the more sensitive Newsies, looking out for everyone else before himself. He was loyal, almost to a fault, and where as his best friend, Jack, was more mysterious when it came to girls, Kid Blink wasn't afraid to fall. He and Mush enjoyed the occasional adventure to flirt with girls, either at Tibby's or on the street, but he had never been with a girl: being a Newsie was a full time job. There was hardly time to flirt with them, let alone talk to one for more than fifteen minutes.

There was Ira. She was the only constant girl in the Newsies' lives. She was Jack's, and like an older sister to the others…an older sister that wouldn't think twice about kicking their asses. For the past four months, Jack, Kid Blink, Mush, and David had been on their toes, helping her and protecting her as she made a new life for herself.*

And she was perfect for Jack: both hotheaded and the most stubborn people Kid Blink had ever met. They were good and bad for each other at the same time.

Kid Blink would see the way they looked at each other, when they thought no one was looking...

He envied Jack sometimes, as did the other boys. But Ira was…a special girl. Only Jack could handle her. Kid Blink wanted something a little softer than the hot-blooded Russian. But she was more than perfect for Jack.

Kid Blink used to not know what he wanted. That is, until he saw _her_.

He was still staring at her, his eyes hadn't left her face ever since she had turned around. She was laughing.

For lack of a better word, she was completely angelic. Her face was kind and charming, a face that could inspire every man in the world. She didn't have a face like Ira's, a face that reminded men of their manhood, but a face that embodied the beauty of the sun. Ira was dark, she was light. Ira was beautiful and all, but _hers_…well, it was a face Kid had no problem staring at.

She was a young woman, and she held herself with grace and poise and there was no doubt that she came from a well off family. But even from across the street, he could see the playfulness that hid just behind her expression. She didn't like to have her hair tied up, like the others'. Her hair was blonde, and shone like gold when the sun caught it. It fell to her lower back in waves, curling at the ends.

And she smiled, a lot. If she had smiled at _him_…well, it would've been more than enough.

She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful person he had ever seen. There was no other way to describe her. She laughed again, her face brightening.

He didn't believe in "love at first sight" or any of that bullshit. But he was willing to reconsider.

But she had money, came from the Upper East Side. He couldn't even afford to drop a nickel by accident. Why should she notice him?

"Kid! Let's go, I'm hungry," someone said to him. It sounded like Snoddy.

But he didn't take his eye away from her. His eyebrows were furrowed, concentrated, and his lips frowned a little. His negative thoughts were beginning to ruin his mood.

"'ey, Blink," Mush said huskily. "'s a matta?"

"It's his girl," Snoddy said, grinning as he saw her on the school steps. "I gotta hand it to ya, Blink: ya sure do know how ta pick tha ones ya can't reach."

Mush shoved Snoddy, "Jus' leave 'im alone, a'right?"

"Nah," Kid Blink said, still staring at her. "He's right. Let's go."

The next day, it was the same thing. He was eager to see her again, to see her face. She was waiting outside, sitting on the school steps. She had a large notebook under her arm. Girls waved to her and she smiled at them, laughing when they teased her playfully as they passed. Then she would be all by herself; even though there were people all around her, she would retreat into her own little world, smiling a little as she wrote in her notebook. She might have been drawing.

Kid Blink felt like he was intruding, even though she was completely unaware of him. His papers hung limply in the crook of his arm, not listening to Mush and the others yelling next to him. He was completely distracted, enamored with her.

But why? There were plenty of girls, and they had been selling at this spot for weeks now. Why had he noticed _her_?

And then it occurred to him: she had looked over to them, the Newsies. She'd looked over at them at least once every day, even now her eyes flitted over to them as she waited on the steps. None of the other girls had taken the time to notice the newsboys. And if they had, it was perhaps out of disgust or indifference. But _her_ eyes had wandered over to them and had even wandered over to _him_. She looked…curious.

And the more he looked at her, the more curious he became too.

"Kid!" Snoddy shouted. "Ya just gonna stand there and look pretty?"

Mush followed his friend's gaze and then gave his friend a look, "Man, jus' go an' talk to her. Ya both have been starin' at each other for weeks."

"Ya think so?" Kid Blink asked, dazed. He looked at his friend, seeing his incredulous expression. Kid Blink scoffed, "Man, come off it. I'd get arrested."

He looked back to her just as she and a girl with curly red hair were walking down the street, away from the Newsies. He sighed, his shoulders dropping, "Nah, 's just another girl."

"C'mon, man," Mush said, putting his arm around Kid Blink's neck and leading him after the other Newsies. "Haven't you learned anythin' from Jack? Girls make you crazy."

"But Ira's _meant_ to drive him crazy, ya know?" Kid Blink said. "It's like…there's that _one_ girl meant ta drive you crazy…"

Mush shook his head, his eyes dark with worry. "Aw, Kid, you've got it bad. Ya don't even know her _name_!"

Kid Blink's eye glinted sadly, looking down the street she had taken. He knew she was beautiful, and must have a personality to match. He knew she noticed little things, even the Newsies. He knew she liked to write or draw a lot because she carried that notebook everywhere. He knew she came from a wealthy family. He knew she was well liked by the other school girls. She must have been kind.

He may not know her name, but he knew he had fallen. And for a complete stranger.

Kid Blink dreamt of her that night: she walked across the street to him and smiled at him, her hair blowing around her face. He did remember much of the dream, just the sun on her face and her eyes crinkled as she smiled at him. He woke up wishing he hadn't dreamt of her at all; it was a painful reminder that someone like her would never talk, or even smile, at someone like him.

The guys teased him all morning as they got dressed for the day.

"Going to see your girl today, Kid?" Snoddy shouted loudly, laughing.

Mush shoved Snoddy, glaring, "Man, cut it out will ya?"

Kid Blink laughed, "At least I didn't wake up to kissing Spec's foot!"

The boys around the bunks laughed and Snoddy fumed.

"Man, taday's tha day," Racetrack beamed, slamming his fist into his palm. "Taday's tha day fellas: I'm gonna be _rollin'_."

"The only thing you'll be rollin' in is the shit in the stables, jus' like last time," Mush shouted from the sinks.

The boys roared with laughter: Racetrack was infamous at the tracks for not being able to pay when he lost his bets.

Racetrack glared, "Well, guess I knows who I'm _not_ sharin' tha winnings with."

"Oh, _gee_," Mush said as he rolled his eyes.

Racetrack kicked him and ran for cover in one of the showers.

The day dragged on like every other day but Kid Blink's heart was pounding in his chest when they reached their spot across from the ornate catholic school. He knew it was stupid to feel that way; nothing would happen. Even so, he still liked to see her.

The Newsies reached the corner and Kid Blink glanced to the front doors as usual. His brows furrowed when he saw her in the middle of the street, dodging buggies and people. The other school girls were on the sidewalk and the steps of the school, chasing after loose sheets of paper. The wind was carrying the papers into the street and the girl, Kid's girl, was trying to save them from the oncoming carts and buggies.

He connected the dots fairly quickly, but not before his feet were already moving.

"Kid! Where are ya goin'?" Snoddy shouted.

Kid was already in the middle of the street, crouching to snag the papers. He was right: they were drawings. But he didn't stop to look at them; he grabbed the ones in the street, getting closer to the girl. The horses and carts seemed to pass them without hesitation, and soon the street was clear. Kid reached for another drawing and looked up, seeing her kneeling next to the sidewalk, smiling at him as she tucked her long hair behind her ear.

His chest heaved, feeling out of breath. He didn't know if it was from grabbing the drawings or from her smile.

It was probably the latter.

"Ah, _thank_ _you_," she said breathlessly. She stood up and quickly went to him to take her drawings. She looked up, meeting his good eye. "You didn't have to."

"I didn't mind," he said, smiling back. "'s better than watching you get run over."

She laughed, her face lighting up. His smile grew in response.

"Thank you so much," she said kindly as he handed over her drawings.

God, that voice.

He noticed her eyes first; they were light hazel, wide and clear as glass. Her face was soft and her lips were full and rosy. Light freckles dusted across her nose and cheeks. He was about a head taller than her. Her body was petite and feminine, dressed in a white blouse and a long navy skirt, her school uniform.

"Here's some more!"

Kid looked up to see Mush running towards them, holding a few drawings.

"Hey, these are really good," Mush said. He nudged Kid, "We're even in here."

"Huh?" Kid Blink asked.

"Yes! I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," the girl said eagerly, smiling up at Kid again. "You and your friends are very good subjects."

She held out one of the drawings and Kid and Mush leaned in, seeing their drawn-selves on the street corner, shouting and holding up their papes. The gray strokes reinvented their street corner, and she'd even drawn his eye patch.

"They're only sketches, so they're not very detailed," she looked up and met Kid's eye. "But I hope you like it."

The air in Kid's lungs evaporated.

"'s amazing!" Mush laughed.

"Thank you," she said. "And thank you for saving them for me."

"Any time," Mush said, touching the rim of his cap. He gave Kid a long meaningful look before turning to run back to the Newsies.

"What is your name?" she asked. Her voice was very…proper. She didn't have a New York accent. It wasn't one he had heard before. But it was pleasant to listen to.

"Kid Blink," he answered. "'s the name the Newsies gave me."

"_Newsies_," she repeated. "Yes, the newsboys…you come here every day, don't you?"

"Yeah," he said excitedly. "'s a good spot to sell papes."

"And to watch the school no doubt," she said cunningly, glancing to her friends. "I sometimes hear my friends giggling about the 'cute newsboys'."

"Cute? Really?" he asked excitedly, smiling.

She laughed at his reaction. Her teeth were perfect.

"So what's _your_ name?" he asked boldly.

"Katherine," she said. "But my friends call me Kat."

"Kat," Kid Blink said to himself.

She smiled innocently. Was she blushing?

"Well, thank you again, Kid Blink, for risking your life for my hobby," she said, her eyes glinting.

"Wasn't any trouble," he laughed. "Maybe you could draw me sometime," he said playfully.

She smiled, looking into his good eye.

"I already have," she said.

Kid had to repeat the words in his head, unsure if he had heard her right.

"Perhaps I'll see you tomorrow, Kid Blink," she said. "I would like to."

He stared down at her. Her smile was completely genuine. She wasn't playing games with him. He heard it in her voice; she was being serious. He didn't say anything back; he was too stunned.

Leaving him on the sidewalk, she turned away, still smiling, and went to her friends on the stoop who were giggling as they watched her.

He smiled to himself and, feeling lighter than air, returned to his friends on the corner. The Newsies watched him open-mouthed.

"Damn, Kid," Mush said, smiling in disbelief. "She's an angel."

"'s her name?" Snoddy asked. "Maybe she can help me out with tha red head…"

"Kat," Kid Blink answered, glancing back across the street to see her walking away with her friends.

"Seriously?" Specs snorted. "_Kat_? So, what, you'd be… _Kid_ _and_ _Kat_?"

The boys roared and Kid Blink hit Specs hard in the stomach with his remaining papes.

"Tha's almost too good to be true," Snoddy said. "Like a fuckin' nursery rhyme."

"Say one more word, an' I'll soak ya," Kid Blink said darkly.

Mush couldn't help laughing a little, "C'mon, man, let's get outta here."

"C'mon, lover boy," Snoddy said over his shoulder.

….

*See "Numb Like Her" for Jack and Ira's story!

So it starts a little slow. Give it a chance! Kid's got to have his story!


	2. Chapter 2

And the next day at four o'clock when she came outside the doors of the school, her eyes sought him and the most beautiful smile lit her face when she found him, as if nothing made her more happy than to see his face across the busy street.

Or maybe he was over thinking it.

But he couldn't help the smile his lips gave in response, his expression amazed; he still couldn't believe he had talked to her yesterday, and that she was now crossing the street to talk to him.

She came right up to him, her white teeth shinning from behind her full rosy lips. "Hello," she said sweetly.

"Hi," he answered huskily, reading her eyes eagerly, smiling.

He found himself standing in front of her with his head leaning down a little, not wanting to miss anything she said.

Mush was right: he had it bad.

Christ, he didn't even know her. But he wanted to.

The others introduced themselves enthusiastically, tipping their caps and bowing their heads a little as they said "ma'am", "nice ta meet ya", "'s a pleasure". She laughed and smiled, her long fingers tucking her light hair behind her ears. Her light hazel eyes were glinting with excitement as she looked at each of their faces.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said. And she sounded like she meant it.

"Firs' Upper East Side girl tha's eva talked ta Newsies," Specs said.

Kat, with furrowed eyebrows, looked at the boys' faces; sweat shinning on their brows, despite the chill in the air, their sleeves rolled up and dirty, and their shoes were worn to the bare soles. But Kid Blink had a feeling that she didn't see any of that.

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently.

"Well, girls from these parts neva talk to tha likes of us," Boots explained.

She shook her head, laughing, "Well, _I'm_ talking to you."

Kid glanced at Mush, and they both knew they were thinking the same thing: _wow_.

She, this girl, was different.

The boys smiled incredulously, realizing they had judged her before she had ever said anything.

She looked up at Kid Blink, "I think the Upper East Side needs some more Newsies. What do you think?"

The Newsies nudged and snickered as they saw the smile on Kid's face and his rosy cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"We've always thought that," Snoddy said proudly, crossing his arms over his puffed out chest.

She was smart, smarter than any of them ever hoped to be. But she didn't hold it above them. She didn't talk in their language with their slang, but she didn't make them feel stupid or talk down to them. When she laughed, she laughed with them, not at them. Soon, they forgot all about the papes in the crooks of their arms.

"So, what's the name of the red head?" Snoddy asked as he jerked his chin towards the front of the school.

Kat looked over her shoulder, seeing her friend laughing with some of the other girls. Some of them were glancing over to the Newsies and her. She waved casually to them, as if to point out their silliness, and they giggled into their gloved hands.

"She's my school mate," she said, looking back to Snoddy. "Why don't you go and ask her yourself?"

The boys made low noises, to Snoddy's irritation.

"An' get arrested?" Snoddy scoffed. "Pass."

The boys pushed on him and he shoved their hands away.

"Hey, you guys take a look at her drawings," Mush said excitedly. "We're in some. I'm Mush by the way." He smiled at Kat and she smiled in return, opening her notebook to the Newsies crowding around her.

At first, she only came by for a few minutes each day until her friends were ready to leave for home, and she would walk away from the Newsies, waving as she ran down the street to catch up with her curious friends. But as the days passed and her visits became longer, it was her friends who had to drag her away.

She was drawn to them, that was obvious, but none of them knew why. But they knew who she was really drawn to. And he wasn't good at hiding his attraction either.

Five days passed, and soon Kid didn't even sell his papes; he just waited for her and smiled as she flitted across the street, saying in the sweetest voice he'd ever heard: "Hello, Kid."

She was the most un-proper, well-mannered girl he had ever met: she held herself with a feminine grace but she would talk with him as if she were one of the Newsies (but not nearly as crude). He used to think she'd be awkward around him, but he could tell by the way she stood close to him and the way she talked with her hands that she was anything but.

The Newsies began to pull back a little, observing her with Kid Blink, who couldn't take his eyes off her or get rid of the broad-ass smile on his face. He would stand close to her, his arm leaning on the street lamp that she leaned against, and she would look up at him bashfully but her eyes were sure and unwavering as she talked with him.

They were still wondering if they should trust her: it just didn't make sense for an Upper East Sider to talk to Newsies, let alone be seen with them for days in a row. They'd let Jack be the one to judge that.

The street was bustling, her friends had left for home about ten minutes ago, and she had stayed put in front of Kid Blink. It seemed that she had forgotten all about the world around her, the carts, carriages, and people passing them on the side walk; she didn't hear them or see them.

He'd forgotten about them, too.

"You don't sound like you're from New York," he said, noticing his own accent as the words came out of his mouth.

"Well, I'm actually English. But I've lived here all my life."

"Nah," he said, shaking his head. "I don' believe you."

She laughed, "Fine, ask my aunt and uncle. They'll tell you the truth."

"That who ya live with?"

She nodded, "While my parents are in Africa."

Kid's eye widened, "_Africa_?"

She smiled wider, "My father is a doctor in the colonies. I don't know which one, but I know he's been to Egypt."

She opened her notebook and took out a photograph of a man and woman, both smiling, and in the distance was what Kid assumed to be the famous pyramids he'd seen on papes and posters before.

"I hope to join them in February," she said softly. "They've been gone for about a year now."

Kid could see the sadness in her eyes as she talked about her father, a distinguished doctor in the English navy, and her spirited Irish mother. She admired them, her parents. He was amazed at the things she told him, opening her life like opening a book, and welcoming him in. He didn't know why she was, but he enjoyed every minute; hearing her talk and seeing her beautiful eyes glance up at him from under her lashes thrilled him in a way he couldn't explain.

She looked so young, maybe eighteen, but her eyes were twenty-five, the eyes of a young woman who had seen more of the world than he could ever dream to see. She'd been to England, India, France.

"I fell in love with France," she said romantically. "But grandmother disapproves of their life style."

She put her parents' picture back into her notebook and closed it. A dark look covered her face and he got the impression she didn't like her grandmother. It was amusing to him to see the expression on her face. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to pry.

"Where do the newsboys live?" she asked abruptly. When she smiled, all traces of dislike fled from her face, like shadows fleeing from the sun.

"Manhattan, in the lodging house near the docks," he said, sniffing. "This is just one of our sellin' spots. 's less noisy than the markets an' we can be heard."

"So, it's a good spot?" she asked.

He read her eyes for a moment, seeing them glinting. He smirked a little, "Yeah, 's a good spot."

She smiled and he didn't realize that they had moved closer to each other.

Then she jumped, remembering, "What time is it? My aunt will have me skinned if I'm late again!"

"Jus' tell her ya was with us," Snoddy said loudly to her and Kid Blink. "I'm sure she'd be _thrilled_."

The boys laughed and she crinkled her nose at them as she took up her notebook and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Sure you'll be okay?" Kid asked. The sun was setting and the shadows were growing longer over the streets. Even if it was the Upper East Side, wicked people still haunted the shadows of tall buildings. She seemed so small to him…

She glanced down the street, seeing the people leaving for home. But she smiled at him, "I'm tougher than I look."

He laughed and Mush came up behind him, "Tough or not, a lady should never walk home alone."

He nudged Kid Blink and Kid glared at him over his shoulder.

"Thank you very much, Mush," Kat said sweetly. "But I should be fine. The thieves and murderers usually don't bother me if I walk quickly."

Kid Blink and Mush stared at her, unsure if they wanted to laugh or take her seriously.

But she laughed first, "Really, I'll be fine. But I won't turn down some company."

Kid Blink smirked at the hint she was clearly giving him with her eyes.

"Well, we'll see ya later then, Kid," Snoddy said, smiling. "Or not…"

Kid Blink threw a pape at his friend and the boys rolled. Mush took the rest of Kid's papes and threw them over his shoulder, smiling cleverly at his friend. He hit Kid on the shoulder before turning to join the others, heading down the street back towards their territory.

Kat laughed as Kid Blink straightened his cap, blushing.

"C'mon," he said, trying to shrug off his irritation.

She held her notebook in front of her, her long skirt wrapping around her ankles as breezes rushed past them on the sidewalk, and her hair flew around her neck. The sky was slowly darkening and Kid thought he would feel more comfortable around her once his friends left, but he was more nervous. He walked beside her with his hands in his pant pockets, kicking his feet on the sidewalk, glancing down at her.

"Thank you for walking with me," she said. "It's not the scariest walk in New York, but it is one of the prettiest."

"Nah, I don't mind," he shrugged in his worn gray jacket. "Ya shouldn't walk alone, anyways."

She smiled to herself, "I never mind walking alone. Some of the best inspirations come to me when I'm alone."

He looked down at her and she laughed at herself, blushing.

"So, how did you come to be a newsboy?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. He had hoped she wouldn't ask; it was bad enough that she was from a different part of the city, a whole other world, from him. He didn't want her to know just how far apart their worlds were…he didn't want her looking down on him. Or worse, be ashamed to be seen with him.

But what the hell.

"It was actually Mush who got me ta join," he said. "I was…in an orphanage with my best friend Jack when we met Mush. He told us we could make money an' not hafta go ta school. So we ran away and became Newsies. Not really glamorous but it's all we've eva known. Jack's now the leada of the Manhattan Newsies."

"So, are you his second in command?" she asked, smiling.

But she wasn't making fun of him. She was actually listening to him. She seemed _interested_.

He laughed, "I guess you could call me that. Not doin' a very good job though."

"And why's that?"

"'cause I've been a little distracted," he said, smiling down at her.

She eyed his charming smile, "Well, I hope it's been a good distraction."

He laughed, looking down at the sidewalk.

They passed dress shops, restaurants, and fancy parlors. He'd never been in such a fancy neighborhood before. He felt like a sore thumb among the clean shops and storefronts. They passed apartments and houses crammed together with little gardens out front. Lights shown from the clean windows, and he could see into the nice sitting rooms. The shiny doorknobs on the front doors alone would probably feed him and a couple of the guys for a week.

She lived up a small hill where the street was cobble stoned. Her house was light gray stone, fitted snuggly between two others. The windows were bright and smoke rose from the chimney. There was a small tree outside the front stoop, its branches hanging over the door.

Kid Blink stopped on the sidewalk as she bounced up the steps.

"I must warn you: my aunt and uncle can be a bit eccentric," she laughed, turning to see him still on the street.

The smile fell from her face as she looked down at him, the lights from the door window casting a halo around her. She was beautiful.

"Won't you come in?" she asked sweetly, her eyes touched with sadness. It was as if she knew he would leave; the uncomfortable look in his eye gave him away. "You'll have the best cup of tea you've ever had, I promise."

He was in shock. He knew he'd walk her home, but to be invited _inside_? Who _was_ this girl? She was…amazing.

But he knew he couldn't.

He laughed halfheartedly, "Nah, thanks. I, um…I should be heading back."

Her eyebrows knitted together, "Did I say something wrong?"

She went down a step, her hand on the railing while the other held the notebook firmly to her side.

He shook his head, "No, 's not you. I just uh…"

She waited for a moment and his eye wandered over her figure briefly, not noticing before that her clothes weren't _completely_ concealing; despite the long sleeves of her blouse and the length of her long skirt, she had curves that fit her petite frame, a young woman. Maybe she _wasn't_ eighteen…

"I jus' don't think I should," he said simply, releasing the air in his lungs in a huff that clouded in front of him.

The corners of her mouth twitched up into a clever smirk, her eyes narrowing, "Why?"

"We jus' met!" he smiled, laughing. "You don't even know me, an' you're invitin' me into your home!"

He laughed because he couldn't believe his current situation. He wanted to come in, to see what her life was like when she wasn't standing with him on a street corner. But what if she didn't like his? What if she would realize him to be the street rat he was? While part of him wanted to accept, another part wanted to turn and walk away with the memories he had already.

His lighthearted smile disappeared and he shuffled his feet. "I don' really belong up here, Kat."

And he glanced around, half expecting to see a bull running towards him to arrest him for being in the wrong part of the city. He felt like a smudge on the clean sidewalk.

"But I would like to know you," she said, as if hearing his doubtful thoughts.

He looked up at her and she smiled at the stunned expression on his face. "I rather like you, you know," she explained.

She thought for a moment and took another step down, looking up into his eye.

"Come inside," she said sweetly, smiling beautifully at him. "Please."

He stared at her for a long moment, wondering if she was feeling the chill that he felt. They hardly knew each other, had met only a few days ago, but the way she spoke to him was as if they had known each other, intimately, for years.

The doubtful thoughts ran circles in his head. But he wasn't about to say no, not to that face, not to her.

It took him another few minutes to lift his foot and step up onto the step below hers, their eyes level. He looked up, admitting defeat, despite his discomfort. But the look on her face and in her glassy eyes made that go away. Her face was inches from hers and he felt his heart about to break from his chest.

God she was gorgeous, breathtaking, any word that men used to describe a woman. He wondered what her skin would feel like under his fingers, her long soft hair, her lips. She smelled like the fancy soaps that were sold in shops near the square. He had to stop thinking like that.

She smiled again and quickly took his hand in hers, "Like I said, they're a little odd, but I think you'll like them."


	3. Chapter 3

She pulled him up the steps and opened the ornate front door, closing it once he was inside. She fought to hide her blush; his hand was rough but she liked the feeling of his fingers on hers.

She hated that he felt uncomfortable, out of place. She knew he never came towards this part of town, but she wasn't ready to see him leave yet. Though he was right: they hardly knew each other. But she felt as if she did know him, or at least she wanted to. He was much more interesting than her usual friends, whom she loved dearly. But they were caught up in their own lives, too much to notice the common Newsboys. But they weren't common at all.

And when his eye met hers, or when his smile lit up his face, she felt the air catch between her lips. No, she didn't want him to go yet.

And these past few days had excited her, made her heart beat in such a way that she had never experienced before. He smiled a lot, had a wide smile that was infectious. His good eye was gray and his blonde hair was longer in the front, just poking out from his cap and sweeping across his brow, and he was wearing the same clothes as the day she had first seen him: a white striped button up shirt, brown pants, a cream colored vest and a worn blue bandana tied around his broad neck. And when she saw his worn gray jacket, she wondered about the bitter cold that awaited them in December and January.

He was quite handsome, more handsome than the school boys she met at galas and parties. He had a strong face, high cheek bones, and full lips. She had seen the looks he gave to his friends sometimes, a look of pure irritation and anger. But it was rare when he made that face, only when they teased him. But even then, he would laugh and tease them back.

She even liked his worn leather eye patch.

"I'm home!" she called as she closed the door behind him. She expected the look on his face, the sudden uncomfortable look in his eye as he looked around the marble and gold gilded hallway, the tribal vases and masks, mirrors and lamps that lined the deep red walls. The smell of roast and potatoes filled her nose and she heard her uncle in the kitchen. Her aunt must have been up stairs with the children. She glanced up the stair case to the right and to the small balcony.

She saw Kid Blink looking at the photo frames on the hallway table, the pictures of her with her father and mother. She smiled for a moment and had to look away.

"It's a ghost house," she said to herself. "I can hear them but I can't _see_ them…"

She looked back to Kid Blink and noticed the pale color in his cheeks. He looked down at her and managed a quick small smile, but it didn't fool her: his body was stiff with his hands buried in his pockets and he kept swallowing.

"I've seen cats less nervous than you," she said lightly, smiling at him wickedly. She couldn't help it.

His smile grew in spite of himself, his eye searching hers. He almost let his body relax until her uncle made a startling noise in the oven.

"Whose cat?" the deep voice boomed from the smoky open doorway to the kitchen.

She set her notebook on the hallway table, "I've brought company!"

"Company!" he shouted louder. "Marvelous! Margie, we have company!"

"Don't burn the roast!" her Aunt shouted from up stairs. "You did that the last time and I WON'T have it again!"

"Oh, I _won't_," the man said, coming around the corner and into the hallway.

Kat imagined that Kid Blink was imagining her uncle as a stiff man who wore suits and worked at a bank. She guessed it by the anxious look in his eye. But it was far from the truth.

Uncle Walden could have been Father Christmas's younger twin brother. He had a gray walrus mustache that she used to tug on when she was little, a round belly, thinning hair, and a kind face that was almost always seen smiling. He was Kat's father's older brother and loved him, and her, very much. It was like being blessed with two fathers.

And he was a proud English man who loved tea and company.

"Kitty! Who might this be?" Uncle Walden said as he wiped his hangs on a kitchen rag. He was wearing Aunt Margie's blue apron and might have looked quite comical to Kid Blink. Kat smiled broadly.

"This is my friend Kid Blink, the newsboy I told you about."

"Ah! The drawing rescuer!" he exclaimed, "Welcome, dear boy! Will you be staying for dinner? Or at least to have a cuppa?"

Kid froze and looked down at Kat who smiled at him, "I will never speak to him again, if he doesn't."

"Wonderful!" Uncle Walden said happily as he bustled back into the kitchen, carrying on as if Kid Blink were nothing out of the ordinary.

"I hope you like roast," Kat said as she led him into the sitting room to the left of the door.

"Kitty!" came more voices, this time from upstairs.

"Oh, did I forget to mention?" she said, turning to look up at his face, warning him with her eyes. "I have siblings."

The twins came bounding down the stairs, their familiar light brown curls dancing on their heads as they hurtled past Kid Blink—taking no notice of him at all—and straight into Kat's outstretched arms. She laughed and squeezed them as she stood straight, lifting them off their feet and swinging them around. She kissed their round giggling cheeks. They smelled of lemon soap and their hair was still damp from their baths.

Thomas and Juliet: Kat's entire world.

"We've had a terrible day!" Thomas moaned.

"Terrible?" Kat replied, who was the least bit rattled by the two. She juggled them on her hips, twirling around to go into the middle of the sitting parlor. Kid Blink stayed near the entry way with his hands in his pockets, still unsure. She smiled at him when she noticed that he was looking at her. Though he was still uncomfortable, he almost looked fascinated as he watched her with the two monkeys.

"What was terrible about it?" she asked.

"You forgot today was tiger day," Thomas whined. He and his twin sister both had English accents, which tickled her aunt and uncle pink. Kat once had the accent, until she began school. Sometimes Thomas teased her "funny" voice.

"And Julie is too little to be the tiger."

"I'm too _little_, Kitty," Juliet emphasized, her big brown eyes heartbroken.

Kid Blink crossed his arms and chuckled, clearly amused by Kat in her natural, whirlwind habitat.

Kat shook her head, "No, my dear ones, I didn't forget. I just brought you a bigger tiger, look!"

The twins looked up at Kid Blink for the first time, their eyes wide. Kid Blink's smile faltered.

Kat nodded to him, "He's a much more ferocious tiger than your silly sister Kitty."

"But he's wounded!" Thomas exclaimed, pointing at Kid Blink's eye patch.

Kat's face snapped up to see Kid Blink unaffected by the little boy's comment. He was laughing.

Kat responded without missing a beat.

"That's because he's fought other tigers," she said ominously. "But you must never point it out again, or else he might attack you."

"Are you _really_ a tiger?" Juliet asked, her eyes twinkling innocently at Kid Blink. Her little hands were clamped onto Kat's blouse.

Kat looked up at Kid Blink, her light eyes glinting with anticipation.

He looked at the twins, who were staring at him and waiting.

"Well, it depends," he said at last, stepping forward. Kat liked the way his voice sounded inside her home.

"Are you good or bad?" he asked, catching on to their game of pretend. It was the only language the children understood. Kat was a master at it.

"They're _awfully_ naughty," Kat said, grinning darkly. The little boy gasped as he looked at his older sister, a look of utter betrayal on his face.

"Are _not_!" Thomas shouted.

"'s too bad then," Kid Blink said, stepping closer. "'cause I only eat bad children."

And Kid Blink quickly leaned closer to them, growling and baring his teeth. The children screamed and scrambled down from Kat's arms, fleeing back to their room upstairs and slamming the door.

Kid Blink laughed and Kat covered her mouth in astonishment, laughing with him.

"Oh, you're good," she said.


End file.
